It is the modern practice in medicine to dispose of used syringes and needles after only one operation. This practice has arisen due to possible contamination of the needle and syringe when administering to a patient.
Such a practice is strictly adhered to by medical practitioners and other ancillary staff in medical institutions. Therefore, the main problem in this regard in relation to hospitals and the like is not whether the syringes are used more than once but whether the syringes are disposed of correctly to avoid accidental skin puncture known as "needle stick". In this case responsible users of the syringes ensure that the syringes are correctly disposed of.
With the advent of increased use of intravenous drugs by drug addicts, there is an increasing incidence of repeated use of syringes by such users, and even several drug users using the same needle. This is unhygienic and tends to lead to the spread of infectious diseases, in particular hepatitis and AIDS.
It has been noted that education and free distribution of syringes and needles is one way of overcoming the possibility of the spread of such infectious diseases. The needle exchange programmes which have been initiated require that a syringe be returned before another one is issued. However, it has been acknowledged that these schemes are only successful up to a point, as it is possible for most conventional syringes to be used more than once, and used for more than one person. This ability to be re-used increases the risk of the spread of such diseases.